Okradená strana. Protesty členské základny KSČ proti měnové reformě v roce 1953
Stolen state: CPC members’ protests against the 1953 currency reform

Summary/Abstract: The subject of the paper is protests by the membership base of the Communist Party of Czechoslovakia (CPC), which intensified at the turn of May and June 1953 in connection with preparations for a currency reform. Representatives of various groups used the party organisation as a platform of communication by which to express their views, leading to tumultuous discussions at party meetings. Well-off industrial workers, who lost considerable savings and demanded advantageous exchanges of large amounts for members of the working class, protested against the reforms. So did poor Communists, who, by contrast, demanded an equitable approach and tougher interventions against the rich, regardless of their class origins. Some of those involved in the discussion blamed the crisis on members of the former bourgeoisie, while others directed their ire towards the leaders of the post-1948 regime. For a third group there was little difference between the two elites.

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